THE STEADY STATE FILES AMICUS BRIEF WARNING THAT RETALIATORY PROSECUTION OF INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS THREATENS OUR DEMOCRACY

WASHINGTON — The Steady State, an organization of more than 420 former national security, intelligence, diplomatic, military, law enforcement, and homeland security officials, filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in the case of former CIA Director John O. Brennan, who is challenging a politically retaliatory Department of Justice investigation.

The Steady State’s brief draws on members’ decades of experience studying authoritarian governments abroad to warn the court that retaliatory prosecutions of intelligence officials are a recognized marker of democratic decline. As the brief states, “one of the earliest and most reliable indicators of democratic decline is the transformation of intelligence and law enforcement agencies from institutions serving a constitution into institutions serving a single political leader.”

Steady State members say they have watched this pattern repeat abroad: authoritarian consolidation commonly begins not with mass arrests, but with carefully selected investigations of officials whose independence presents an obstacle to executive control — removing experienced institutional leaders, intimidating those who remain, and rewarding loyalty over expertise. The brief warns such prosecutions rarely punish only the individual targeted. As it states, “retaliatory investigations are not merely about one person. They are designed to intimidate everyone else.”

“Our members have spent their careers watching authoritarian leaders convert intelligence and law enforcement agencies from institutions that serve the Constitution into instruments that serve one person,” said Steven Cash, Executive Director of The Steady State. “This pattern sends a message to every officer still serving: independent judgment now carries personal risk.”

“President Trump’s retribution campaign against perceived enemies, including former Director Brennan, is a reason why his Justice Department no longer deserves the presumption of regularity from the courts,” said Kevin Carroll of Mark S. Zaid, P.C., counsel for The Steady State. “Retaliatory investigations and prosecutions of intelligence officers, specifically, are instruments of authoritarian consolidation that present grave risks to both intelligence agencies and most importantly, the Republic. What the DOJ is doing to the Director, is exactly what Attorney General and Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson warned about: it is an exercise in arbitrary, comprehensive and undefined presidential powers to satisfy political expectations, rather than seek justice, by investigating a man and not a crime.”

The Steady State urges the court to grant the relief requested. Its members believe the case tests whether the nation’s intelligence and law enforcement institutions will continue to serve the Constitution, or be redirected to serve those in power.

About The Steady State

The Steady State is an organization of more than 420 former national security professionals committed to defending American democracy from rising authoritarian threats. Its members include former ambassadors and senior State Department officials, senior CIA, Defense officials, FBI and DHS leaders, USAID and NSC staff, and senior congressional staff from both Republican and Democratic administrations.

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Phone: (212) 685-9660